Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday expressed his thanks to Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) for his public endorsement of Chen’s medical parole request and applauded Hau for his courage and vision in raising the issue.
Chen’s son, Chen Chi-chung (陳致中), yesterday visited his father in prison and said the former president praised Hau for “possessing the character and manners of a national leader” by proposing to grant him medical parole.
“My father said Mayor Hau’s proposal would promote social reconciliation and reduce political confrontation,” Chen Chi-chung said, adding that the former president has written a letter to Hau expressing his gratitude.
Chen Shui-bian is serving a 17-and-a-half-year prison term on corruption charges. During his period of incarceration, he has complained about several physical ailments, including chest pains.
Hau said on Tuesday that releasing Chen on parole for medical treatment could help bring harmony to Taiwanese society.
Responding to Chen Shui-bian’s statement, Hau yesterday played down the political impact and said that he aimed to end social and political divides through the proposal.
“I support the proposal for former president Chen to be granted medical parole ... I hope [it] can help heal scars and end political confrontation. It’s not only about helping the former president,” he said.
Medical parole for Chen Shui-bian would serve as the first step to more positive interaction between the pan-blue and pan-green camps, he said, calling for the two camps to cooperate and focus time and energy on economic issues.
Hau said that his endorsement of Chen Shui-bian’s medical parole was not intended to be a political move connected to a presidential bid in the 2016 presidential elections.
As one of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) potential 2016 presidential candidates, Hau’s comments have sparked a heated discussion as his stance strays from the official party line. There are rumors that Hau may stand in the KMT’s chairman elections next year which would pit him against President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Taiwanese paleontologists have discovered fossil evidence that pythons up to 4m long inhabited Taiwan during the Pleistocene epoch, reporting their findings in the international scientific journal Historical Biology. National Taiwan University (NTU) Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology associate professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修) led the team that discovered the largest snake fossil ever found in Taiwan. The single trunk vertebra was discovered in Tainan at the Chiting Formation, dated to between 400,000 and 800,000 years ago in the Middle Pleistocene, the paper said. The area also produced Taiwan’s first avian fossil, as well as crocodile, mammoth, saber-toothed cat and rhinoceros fossils, it said. Discoveries
Taiwanese paleontologists have discovered fossil evidence that pythons up to 4m long inhabited Taiwan during the Pleistocene epoch, reporting their findings in the international scientific journal Historical Biology. National Taiwan University (NTU) Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology associate professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修) led the team that discovered the largest snake fossil ever found in Taiwan. A single trunk vertebra was discovered in Tainan at the Chiting Formation, dated to between 800,000 to 400,000 years ago in the Middle Pleistocene, the paper said. The area also produced Taiwan’s first avian fossil, as well as crocodile, mammoth, sabre-toothed cat and rhinoceros fossils, it said. Discoveries
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
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